MORE than 90% of patients have described the treatment they received at North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust as 'excellent', 'very good' or 'good'.

These findings form part of the Healthcare Commission's Survey of Inpatients 2005, which also revealed 96% of people admitted to Warrington or Halton Hospital last year said they were treated with dignity and respect.

The same proportion of inpatients questioned had confidence in the doctor or nurses treating them.

Kath Holbourn, director of nursing and service development, said: 'I am delighted with the findings as they provide an independent assessment of our patients' views.

'It shows that in most areas the vast majority of our patients are pleased with the services that we are providing and we are performing well in key areas such as cleanliness and privacy.

'However, there is always room for improvement and we will concentrate on strengthening those areas which our patients have identified as needing attention, such as speeding up our discharging process.

'We will continue to work hard in delivering the best possible care and services for our patients and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff for their dedication and commitment in achieving these results.'

Cleanliness on the wards was rated highly, with 93% of patients reporting that the hospital ward on which they stayed was 'very clean' or 'fairly clean'.

High scores in hygiene also extended to the bathrooms and toilets, which 92% of patients described as very clean or fairly clean. The vast majority of patients also said they had seen doctors and nurses regularly washing their hands.

Other high percentages included:

* 96% of patients thought the order in which patients were seen in the emergency department was fair; * 96% of patients said they were given enough notice of their date of admission to hospital and only 3% had their appointment date changed more than once; * 92% of patients described the way doctors and nurses worked together as excellent, very good or good; * 84% witnessed a doctor washing their hands and 92% witnessed a nurse washing their hands; and 98% of patients said they were given enough privacy when being examined or treated.